Co-produced with Harbourfront Centre and sponsored by TD Bank.

Co-presented with Marchande d'idées interculturelles.

Stirring rhythms and voices of a desert oasis in their Toronto debut.

Daraa Tribes presents a fusion of ancestral tribal music and Saharan blues from the oasis town of Tagounite in the Draâ River Valley in Morocco. Each member originates from a different tribe, bringing with them diverse musical traditions, creating an eclectic style only found in the North African Sahara. Electric guitar riffs weave through tribal percussion and vocal styles that combine Moroccan Arabic (Darija), Saharan Arabic (Hassania), and the indigenous North African language (Tamazight); mirroring the modes of self-expression in a multilingual and multiethnic culture.

Members Balkhir Razgui (lead vocals), Rachid Berazougui (lead guitar), Abdelkebir Saadi (bass guitar), Mustapha Aqermim (rhythm guitar), and Hafid Ami (percussion) mix tribal fusion with the modern Saharan Blues style of music to produce an eclectic sound. Vocals often combine Moroccan Arabic (Darija), Saharan Arabic (Hassania), and the indigenous North African language (Tamazight). Influenced by the great Ali Farka Toure of Mali and American Blues master John Lee Hooker, the Touareg Rock band Tinariwen of Northern Mali, contemporary Saharan Blues bands from Algeria Imarhan and Kadr Tarhanin, as well as West African funk and Afrobeat artists like El Rego of Benin.



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